Online Course | Assessing Trauma and Complex Needs Step 2

Assessing for Trauma and Complex Needs at Step 2

Online Course

Wed 19 Jun 2024

Assessing for Trauma and Complex Needs at Step 2 was delivered by Dr Richard Stott on Wednesday 19th June. Richard was joined by practitioners of all experience levels, from those in training right up to those in senior leadership.

Not only did attendees gain useful techniques to reduce burnout and increase their wellbeing whilst delivering trauma focused assessments, colleagues from across the country also learnt to assess and identify complexity within assessment protocols, discovered how to improve trauma informed practice and evaluate suitability, and learnt new skills to help identify and assess complexity and trauma, whilst enhancing their understanding of when to implement targeted interventions.

Engaging presentations, thought provoking discussions and expertly guided case studies

Participants developed confidence in delivering effective interventions by focusing on:

Understanding how complexity can present during your assessments
Learning new skills to help you distinguish between current and historic trauma
Developing new skills to manage the pressure and prevent burnout
Implementing trauma informed approaches to assessments
Enabling patients to feel connected and validated in assessment
Boosting your confidence in making clinical decision making
Determining the differences between complexity and PTSD
Evolving your communication skills to have effective conversations about trauma

Developed with convenience in mind

With useful techniques and new skills to use in day-to-day work routines, the day included:

Evidenced based examples and referrals
Interactive presentations
Closed room discussions
Agreed action plan

9:30	Join, tech support and opportunity to network in your breakout room • What would you like to take away from today?
10:00	Introduction, instructions and leader’s opening remarks Dr Richard Stott, Clinical Psychologist, Visiting Associate, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King's College London
Understanding Complexity
10:20	Considering complexity at Step 2 Defining complex needs and understanding complexity Investigating how complexity can present in your assessments Evaluating complexity presenting during your assessments vs. historic complexity Investigating assessment and suitability
11:00	Questions and answers with Richard Stott
11:10	Screen break
11:20	Interactive discussion: Assessment and suitability in practice at Step 2 Do you have any barriers to working with patients with complex needs? What is your understanding of complexity? How does that present or look like whilst assessing patients? What tools would you use to help inform your practice?
11:40	Feedback from interactive discussion: Assessment and suitability in practice at Step 2
Assessing for complexity
11:50	Identifying and assessing for complexity within assessment protocols Working within your services assessment protocols to ensure safe clinical practice What can be delivered in your service? In-depth consideration complexity How to achieve balance and ensure appropriate onward referrals
12:30	Questions and answers with Richard Stott
12:40	Lunch break
Trauma-informed approaches
1:10	Trauma informed therapy in practice Understanding how to make sense of trauma and when is it PTSD? How to talk to your clients appropriately about trauma When does trauma become complex and what factors increase complexity?
1:50	Questions and answers with Richard Stott
2:00	Interactive discussion: Case examples - making sense of trauma and complexity In small groups, you will be placed into breakout rooms to consider some case examples with your fellow attendees. At the end of the interactive session, you will be invited to leave your breakout room and will then be automatically removed to re-join the main conference.
2:20	Feedback from interactive discussion: Case examples - making sense of trauma and complexity
2:30	Screen break
Preventing burnout
2:40	Sustaining your wellbeing and creating support mechanisms to prevent burnout Methods to reduce emotional ‘triggering’ and creating personal emotional boundaries Utilising your supervision: the benefits of line management, case management and clinical skill time How to maximise all available support to promote your personal wellbeing
3:20	Final questions and answers with Richard Stott
3:30	Closing reflections
3:40	Close of day

We were pleased to welcome as the course leader Richard Stott who brought a wealth of experience and expertise

Previously described as ‘very knowledgeable and focused a lot on normalising and validating the staff’s work’ and is ‘clearly very experienced in this area and teaching’.

Dr Richard Stott

Clinical Psychologist, Visiting Associate

Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King's College London

Tangible support for effectively approaching complexity at Step 2

Here is just some of the brilliant feedback from those who attended on the day:

"I found this to be an exceptional course. I can honestly say, in my many years of being a PWP (and prior to IAPT, working in a similar role) this is the best course I have attended. Richard Stott responded to questions and comments from participants respectfully and was able to share valuable knowledge, insights and experience of working with complexity in a way that will help me to continue my professional development and improve my professional practice. The course was everything I had hoped for and more! It was also exceptionally well organised too (thanks Ingrid), I particularly appreciated getting a call, the day before the course, to ensure I had received joining instructions"